Mark Bartelstein : "Walker is a heck of a player"

[PRIDE]

If I'm Minny I would package Toine and his 9 mil, #3, and filler for a superstar to put next to Big Al.

Or package Toine, Foye/McCants and filler for a veteran. Al, Mayo, and a veteran sounds like a good trio to me. Minny has a lot of young talent and is in a similar situation to us last year. They need to package their talent together to make upgrades. Cant McHale learn from DA?

[Brickowski]

Antoine is a perfect fit for the Lakers.  He would be their best rebounder.

[jay_jay54]

so his agent says he's a heck of a player.

shocking. 

i hope he catches on somewhere, he's a good guy. just hope its not as our 5th forward heh.

  I'm reminded of Mo Vaughn's agent talking about how Mo was  in incredible shape right before he left town.

That must've meant "incredibly BIG-BONED", I suppose?   


The Mets found that out the hard way...or the FAT way. 

Ah, a Mo Vaughn reference!  Always fun times.  My favorite Mo comment, courtesy of the "daily rant" in the NY paper Newsday:

"Mo Vaughn underwent successful surgery to remove the fork from his hand."

Too bad the statement was false.  He took his share of bites during his stay in the Big Apple.

-sw

****,SW...that deserves a TP.

[Bankshot]

I thought this was going to be about Bill Walker. People are still talking about Antoine? Unbelievable...

LOL  I thought this was about Bill Walker too.

[Steve Weinman]

so his agent says he's a heck of a player.

shocking. 

i hope he catches on somewhere, he's a good guy. just hope its not as our 5th forward heh.

  I'm reminded of Mo Vaughn's agent talking about how Mo was  in incredible shape right before he left town.

That must've meant "incredibly BIG-BONED", I suppose?   


The Mets found that out the hard way...or the FAT way. 

Ah, a Mo Vaughn reference!  Always fun times.  My favorite Mo comment, courtesy of the "daily rant" in the NY paper Newsday:

"Mo Vaughn underwent successful surgery to remove the fork from his hand."

Too bad the statement was false.  He took his share of bites during his stay in the Big Apple.

-sw

****,SW...that deserves a TP.

Thanks, Jay Jay...I'm always up for some good old-fashioned Mo Vaughn fun.

-sw

[TripleOT]

I many be in the minority here (considering all the same snide remarks that the same posters feel compelled to share with us ad nauseum), but if Walker could get in shape (which many players in their contract year seem able to do), he could be a contributor to a contender in an 8th man role for 15-20 minutes a night. 

Look how Theo miraculously was able to put in a healthy six weeks with the Pistons after not being able to play more than a handful of games for years.  Toine will probably get back in shape this summer, and by the look of him at the playoff game in the Garden looking fat in a white shirt, he has a lot of work to do. 

BTW, what do you expect his agent to say about him?  To me, the guy has proven to be a winner at every level, despite a ton of athleticism.  I shouldn't have to remind anyone on here that Walker was the leader when this franchise got some semblance of pride back in 2002, and his friendship and leadership undoubtedly influenced Paul Pierce's career in a positive way. The hatred for him on this board makes me laugh.   

[PRIDE]

The hatred really isn't that funny. Toine was a big part of this franchise and he was well loved. Hes a proven winner yet not many people are interested? I bet he could contribute more than BBD.

[FallGuy]

The hatred really isn't that funny. Toine was a big part of this franchise and he was well loved. Hes a proven winner yet not many people are interested? I bet he could contribute more than BBD.

He won in Miami because of Wade/Shaq. And even if he's a "proven winner" his skills have deteriorated to the point where he's useless beyond his expiring contract. The guy never had good shot selection, is barely mobile anymore and has no place on the roster of a team trying to defend a world title.

It's over.

[Finkelskyhook]

I agree with both Pride and OT.  The hatred is ridiculous and really crappy.

Walker gave a lot to this franchise and to us fans during a difficult time in Celtic's history.  I don't think he contributes more than Davis at this point.  But I'd love to see him in green.  Our best players (Rondo being the exception) aren't getting any younger. An in shape Walker brings a lot to the table for 15-20m.

[FLCeltsFan]

I really hope Pierce called Walker and rubbed it in.  If you remember when Walker was in the finals, he offered Pierce playoff tickets and then told him that if he wanted to win he needed to leave Boston.  I heard that Walker was at a couple of the Finals games.  Hopefully Pierce offered him tickets and reminded him of his statements in 2006. 

[Finkelskyhook]

I really hope Pierce called Walker and rubbed it in.  If you remember when Walker was in the finals, he offered Pierce playoff tickets and then told him that if he wanted to win he needed to leave Boston.  I heard that Walker was at a couple of the Finals games.  Hopefully Pierce offered him tickets and reminded him of his statements in 2006. 

Pierce essentially did leave Boston.  2/3rds of his team was traded away or cut (as in the future) to facilitate a championship team. 

[The Walker Wiggle]

But the origins of the [97-91 Game 4] comeback might go back even further, to a May 25, 2002, playoff game, when the Celtics overcame a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the New Jersey Nets, 94-90.

"For me, it was deja vu all over again, watching the game [Thursday] night," said former Celtics guard Kenny Anderson, who is in Los Angeles for a promotional event. "Paul Pierce was the only guy who played in both games, and I knew he was sitting in the huddle saying all the things we said.

"He had been in that situation before and he pretty much knew what could be done."

The Celtics entered Game 3 of the '02 Eastern Conference finals tied with the Nets. And the Nets led by 26 points in the second half, but were outscored, 41-16, in the final quarter.

The Garden crowd had been booing in the third quarter, but ended up cheering on the Celtics in a chaotic final quarter. At the time, the Celtics said they were motivated by an inspirational speech from Antoine Walker.

"[Walker said] no matter what happens in this fourth quarter, win or lose, we're just going to go down fighting," Pierce said after that game. "We're not going to get embarrassed tonight."

Pierce had been in a shooting slump, connecting on 5 of 34 shots in the series, then scored 19 points in the final quarter.

"Antoine was so positive in timeouts," former Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "He was saying to Paul, 'You just take over this [dang] game. You just start carrying us. Attack, attack, attack.' "

[nickagneta]

I'm pretty sure that most of the snide comments are not directed at Antoine Walker, the player that was here for so many years giving his heart and soul to this team.

I think the snide remarks might be a passive aggressive jab at all those posters who keep reintroducing these "Bring back Toine" threads. We all loved the Antoine that was here between 1996-2002. He may not have been the best player around and god knows with better coaching and a stronger front office, Walker could have been a lot, lot better than he was. He had that much potential.

But people, myself included, poke fun at Antoine because we see that he is but a very large shadow of his former self. The same way Sam Cassell is. They are not all that different Sam and Toine. Both have that me shoot first mentality. Both take lots of shots and lots of bad shots. Both are not good defensively. Both are now slow and have very little vertical left in them. Both if they decided to completely sacrifice who they are as players and devoted themselves to team, could, and that is a huge could, help a team off the bench.

But it isn't going to happen. They are creatures so set in their ways that change on the level needed to have them fit in well here is nearly impossible.

Think of all the ifs:

- if Walker can lose weight.
- if Walker can get himself back in the shape coaches want.
- if Walker is willing to come off the bench.
- if Walker is willing to put his ego in check.
- if Walker is willing to listen to a coach.
- if Walker will not pout every time the coach doesn't put him out there.
- if Walker is willing to play the 4.
- if Walker plays within the framework of the offense and doesn't hoist up tons of bad shots.
- if Walker still has a shooting touch within him.
- if the game hasn't passed him by.
- if he is willing to realize he is a 10th-12th player on the bench and act accordingly.


Tons of ifs. And there are more, I am sure. And there is just too many for an Executive of the Year, who is looking to upgrade at every position beyond his starting 5 to make a run at repeating, can justify.

He's not coming back and that's too bad. Because in many ways it is his own fault. He has a reputation and a lot of what causes that rep is Antoine being Antoine.

[crownsy]

I agree with both Pride and OT.  The hatred is ridiculous and really crappy.

Walker gave a lot to this franchise and to us fans during a difficult time in Celtic's history.  I don't think he contributes more than Davis at this point.  But I'd love to see him in green.  Our best players (Rondo being the exception) aren't getting any younger. An in shape Walker brings a lot to the table for 15-20m.

really? like what?

he'd be our 5th forward (6th if pose resigns). his 20 minutes a night would come at the expense of

powe
davis
posey (god willing)
pierce
KG

i wouldn't give walker one minute of any of those guys time. let alone 20.


as i said in another thread, if the 8 year ago version of walker is avalable, sign me up. pass on this version of him, he doesn't fit our needs at all.

[Reyquila]

The saga of toine will never end so it seems. I can handle it in here. What I would really find unbearable would be if Toine should show up in my dreams. Then, suicide would be an option. I hope it doesnt end in that.